Je Suis l'Amoureuse
by redbeanmochi
Summary: Arthur is scared and Ariadne isn't ready. So they deal with it the same way they deal with things when they go wrong- they run.


He likes to know what's going on at all times. They both do- Ariadne and Arthur.

Arthur pulled on his shirt as he watched Ariadne stir in her sleep. He loved watching her sleep. He loved the way she had one hand stuffed under her pillow and the other pulling the covers over her chest. He loved the way a few strands of her hair fell over her face while the rest sprawled over her pillow. He loved the way her legs curled into her chest as she slept. He loved the way she would unconsciously tug at his shirt when she was having a bad dream. He loved the way her lips were slightly parted and he loved the way her eyes were closed, ever so gingerly. He loved everything about her and it scared him.

* * *

><p>Arthur pressed his lips against her forehead lightly, causing Ariadne's eyelids to flutter open.<p>

"G'morning," she yawned, blinking lazily as she rose from bed.

"Can we stay in bed all day?" Ariadne asked, pulling Arthur closer to her.

"I'd love to. However, we actually have to work today." Arthur chuckled, breaking free from her grasp. Ariadne groaned as she reluctantly rolled out of bed and padded to the bathroom.

Though they hadn't officially moved in yet, the majority of Ariadne's necessities were in Arthur's apartment. For instance, her toothbrush. Ariadne spent about 10 minutes searching for a spare toothbrush when she realized that hers was sitting in the cup, right next to Arthur's.

"Shit…" she muttered, picking up her toothbrush.

True, they had known each other for almost two years, but they had only been seeing each other for a little less than a month and now, Ariadne was beginning to have second doubts. She quickly brushed her teeth, but the entire time, all she could think about was whether or not they were rushing into things too quickly.

* * *

><p>As he waited for Ariadne, Arthur paced around the kitchen, his hand shaking as he picked up his coffee mug. Did he really love her? No, it couldn't be possible. Arthur wasn't the kind of person who was ever in a serious relationship. No, no. It wasn't love. It was simply infatuation, Arthur convinced himself.<p>

"Ariadne, are you ready?" he called, knocking on the bathroom door.

When there was no response, Arthur pushed open the door to find Ariadne leaning on her left hand which rested on the sink while the other brushed her teeth. He loved the way she tucked her left leg behind her right.

"Is something wrong?" she mumbled as toothpaste lobbed over her lower lip. He loved the way Ariadne was like a child when she brushed her teeth.

"Uh… Oh. Cobb wants us at the warehouse in 10 minutes," Arthur stuttered.

"Oh. Ok. Well, you can go on ahead of me. I'll be fine."

He loved the way Ariadne didn't need to be attached to his hip at all times to be happy. He even found a way to love all of the things he hated about her. He loved the way she argued with him. He loved the way she sometimes left his apartment in a mess. He even found a way to love the way she would find his notebooks and flip through them. And all of this infatuation scared the shit out of him and he didn't know what to do. So Arthur dealt with it the same way he deals with things when they don't work out at work- he ran.

* * *

><p>When she got out of the bathroom, Ariadne found that Arthur was nowhere in sight. So she simply assumed that he left before she got out. Deciding that she really didn't want to go to work, she flopped onto Arthur's side of the bed, inhaling the musky scent of his aftershave that lingered on the sheets. Ariadne would have dozed off again if it weren't for the sound of her phone vibrating on the night stand.<p>

She groaned in disappointment when she saw the call was from Cobb and chose to ignore it.

Deciding it wouldn't fare too well with Cobb if she skipped work Ariadne reluctantly got out of bed once again and made her way, slowly, to the door. On the counter, she found a key and a note, scrawled on a sticky note, from Arthur:

"Ariadne-

Lock the door when you leave. Keep the key. Thanks.

-Arthur"

Ariadne's heart raced as she picked up the key. Was this Arthur officially asking Ariadne to move in with him? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense- her toothbrush was in his bathroom, half of her closet was already at his house and now he was asking her to keep the spare key. The idea terrified Ariadne. She had been in relationships before, but none of them had gone so far and certainly not as quickly. So she dealt with it the same we she dealt with her past relationships gone wrong – she ran.

Perhaps taking his phone with him was not the wisest choice Arthur could have made. For the past ten minutes, all he felt was his phone vibrating against his thigh as he was bombarded with calls from Cobb, who was most likely wondering, "Where the hell is Arthur?" Or maybe the calls were from Ariadne, wondering where he had run off to.

He prayed it wasn't the latter.

Arthur sat on the bus, not sure of where he was heading. He didn't know where to run to, but as long as he wasn't home, it was good enough for him. He soon became restless, wondering if Ariadne was frantically trying to find him, but he didn't want to check his phone. Soon, Arthur found himself listing the reasons why he and Ariadne should and should not be together.

For the reasons why he should go back he came up with:

Ariadne's laugh

Ariadne's smile

Ariadne's legs

Ariadne's sense of humor that made up for his lack of one

Ariadne's cooking

Ariadne's eyes

Ariadne's hair

He is in love with Ariadne

For all the reasons he should not be with Ariadne, Arthur came up with:

He is afraid

* * *

><p>Ariadne sped out of Arthur's apartment faster than you could say "keystone," grabbing anything she set her eyes on. By the time she was out of the apartment and on the street, Ariadne found herself carrying loose articles of clothing (a few of which she was sure were Arthur's), her cell-phone, a few pens and the toaster. Now walking a little slower, Ariadne realized that everyone was staring at her.<p>

_If anyone asks, you're helping a friend move_, Ariadne told herself.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. It was Arthur. For a moment, Ariadne contemplated picking up, but eventually decided against it. But before she could even reach to turn her phone off, Arthur left a message: "Ariadne, don't move. I'm coming back."

She froze in her place. He was coming back and she already ran. Ariadne began listing out reasons why she should or should not return, but ultimately came up with the conclusion that she was too afraid to return. Ariadne never let anyone into her life, but here she was, practically already living with Arthur after barely a month.

True, the sex was great and the man was absolutely stunning to look at, but was she ready for it? Ariadne never really mentally recovered from seeing Cobb's despair when she shot Mal in Limbo, but she loved Arthur.

She _loved_ him?

At that point, Ariadne finally moved. She turned around, clothing and toaster in hand and ran back to Arthur.

Fuck it all, she decided- she loved him.

* * *

><p>When Arthur finally arrived back at his apartment, Ariadne was gone. But soon after, he saw her running back… With the toaster?<p>

"Arthur!" she wailed running towards him.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry," Ariadne repeated, hugging him.

"You… took the _toaster_?" he asked, stunned.

"And some of your clothes. I'm sorry I ran. I didn't know what to do."

"My _clothes_? What the fuck did you think you were going to do with a toaster and men's clothing?"

"I don't know. I was scared. I don't even know that much about you."

"My favorite color is navy blue, I hate peas and I'm a bitch until I've had my morning coffee," Arthur explained and smirked when Ariadne punched him lightly.

"That's not what I meant," she grumbled, burying her face under his chin so he didn't see the giant, goofy grin on her face.

"And besides. I already knew that," Ariadne continued proudly. Perhaps they knew each other better than they thought.

"I love you," Arthur blurted out. Ariadne removed her head from under Arthur's chin and slowly turned up to look at him. He braced himself for Ariadne's rejection, but instead was met with a smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Did you think I didn't feel the same way?" Ariadne teased, even though she knew she thought the same thing earlier that day. Arthur stared at her, lips pursed in embarrassment as his face flushed pink.

"Silly Arthur…" She muttered, leaning up on her toes and pressing her lips against his.

Maybe she didn't understand why he was the only one who could make her feel like this- scared and happy and confused all at the same time. Maybe he didn't understand why he never wanted to leave her side, no matter how infuriating she was sometimes.

They loved each other and it was good enough for them.


End file.
